Pollution and Holidays

When it comes to monitoring beaches for pollution, some countries are better than others.

Shark tales make bigger headlines, but water pollution is far more common—and a greater threat to humans than the creature depicted in Jaws ever was. In the United States, fouled swimming water is responsible for tens of thousands of beach closings and health advisories every year. Although there is still no uniform federal protocol for testing water quality at beaches, information on water cleanliness at most of the nation’s public swimming beaches can be found on the Environmental Protection Agency’s site. Outside the United States, however, travellers are largely left to fend for themselves.

Most pollution at swimming beaches is caused by bacteria associated with fecal contamination. Some of these bacteria are harmless, but they are often accompanied by more pernicious pathogens, including E. coli, salmonella, giardia, and enteroviruses that cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and other extremely unpleasant symptoms for the millions of swimmers who are exposed to them every year. Though rare, cholera, hepatitis, and typhoid fever are among the more serious water-borne maladies found at beaches around the world.

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50 ways to save on your holidays

Richard Browning

SCHOOLS are clamping down on parents who take their children on holiday during term time. At best, to get permission for even one extra day off at either end of a holiday requires a degree of form filling and letter writing that wouldn’t be out of place in a Soviet police station. Even then, the final decision rests on the whim of the chairman of governors. While the difference a day makes to a child’s education is unquantifiable, it can add thousands of pounds to the price of a family holiday. But with this option of saving money virtually outlawed, how do you stick within the rules without breaking the bank?

Here are some examples from the article on how to save money on your holiday. Visit “Holiday Money” to read the holiday article in full.

10. Check back later Travel agents and internet users can reserve flights and holidays for several days without purchasing them. So if at first you find a deal is unavailable at the price you want to pay, you have a choice: pay the higher price or wait a few days to see if the places become available again.

11. Sign up for special offers by email. Any airline or travel agent worth its reputation has a service that allows you to hear about the deals first. Choose a few of your favourites and sign up. You could access big savings for a few minutes’ effort.

12. Go camping The rise of the no-frills airlines has spawned a craze in ultra-low-cost holidays. You can buy a camping kit for a family of four including tent, mats and sleeping bags for sometimes less than £100. You book your flights to somewhere preferably with insignificant annual rainfall and then pay a few pounds a night to sleep under the stars. And remember: campsites abroad are often much better equipped than those in Britain.

Rent a dream villa, self catering apartment or luxury chateau in France direct with the owner – On offer are apartments in Paris, luxury villas for rent in Cote d’Azur or rent a castle – the choice is yours.

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27. Find a low-cost insurance policy online Your travel agent – online or High Street – will try to flog you insurance. Just say no. Go online or talk to a broker and you’ll find single-trip European policies for less than £10 per person. If you’re going away more than once in the year, consider an annual policy. Just make sure you understand what you need and read the small print. Tip: single-trip policies cover you for cancellation as soon as you take out the policy even if your travel dates are months ahead. This is not the case for annual policies, which start from the day you take

28. Shop around for your European breakdown cover We’ve all heard of the AA and RAC but it’s only insurance and any number of companies offer the same type of policies for significantly less money.

29. The packed lunch trick If you’re flying no-frills, you can pay several pounds for an in-flight sandwich and drink or you can take your own. With some of these low-cost deals, the cost of your food can be more expensive than the cost of your flights. There’s a principle at stake here more than just a free lunch.

30. Take the coach According to a This is Money survey, petrol will have to reach £10 a litre before we start leaving our cars at home in any great numbers. Until then public transport is always going to find it hard to compete. But coaches are pretty luxurious these days and at the time of writing, megabus.com is offering intercity fares throughout the UK from 50p, with £1 fares available during the Christmas holidays.

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40. Beware the passport photo ‘scam’ The rules on passport photos are now so strict that if you use a photo booth it may take three or four attempts, around £14, before you get two pictures that obey all the rules on size, reflection, smile and head size. So forget the booths and go to a photographer who specialises in passport photos. You can refuse to pay if the pictures are no good.

41. The foreign school holiday trick When travelling abroad, check out the timings of the school holidays in the country you are visiting. In France, the school summer holidays end before they do in the UK. If you can wait a few weeks longer than normal before going away you will find that rates in holiday accommodation drop dramatically since you are no longer in their peak period. You will need to book direct with the French operator and make sure you have the school uniform laid out ready for school the morning after you return.

42. Beat the fly-drive system When taking a fly-drive holiday in Florida many of the package deals include a ‘compact’ car. When collecting your car from the hire desk the staff may try to convince you to pay for an upgrade using techniques such as explaining how uncomfortable a family of five will be in a compact car, which is a little bigger than a Ford Escort. However, you may find you get the upgrade without parting with any money. Americans tend not to hire compacts so the hire companies don’t have many in stock. Reject any requests for additional costs, take the keys and go to the car lot, where hopefully you will find a much larger car, which hasn’t cost you a cent more.

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Coming Soon A wide variety of holiday choices in the UK and also holidays in Europe and abroad.